The Pie Hole

Reviews 5

TI

Tiffany Cheung

I came with high expectations, especially since my trip to LAs Pie Hole was rather successful; however, this visit was a pretty big fail. I bought four slices of pie for my dads birthday, all the while assuring him that buying a cake isnt necessary and slices of pie would be more than enough to satisfy his sweet tooth craving. Ive tried the Maple Custard, Mexican Chocolate, and Banana Foster from the LA location and thought they were fairly good, so I confidently went into Pie Hole to pick from their assortment of pies. The Pasadena location of Pie Hole is in Old Town - its fairly close to Umami Burger. They dont have a physical store, but they share a space with Cool Haus and Pressed Juicery. Theres quite a few tables in the middle of the space, quite like a food court. Buying pie took less than a few minutes - pick the pies you want, they wrap it up in boxes, you pay, and youre on your way. Maple Custard: This is the ONLY pie that I would come back for. The Pie Hole has perfected this pie - its sweet, flavorful, creamy, but not too heavy. The crust is still flaky, although if you wait too long - the crust does get soggy. I like that the top of the pie has that glistening crème brulee like look. At $6.75 a slice, it definitely is not a cheap treat. This was the only pie my dad enjoyed. Earl Grey: Ive heard from many people that the Earl Grey is just as good, if not better than Maple Custard. I dont see it. I didnt like the Earl Grey at all. I believe this pie has the Earl Grey filling, whipped cream on top, and some nuts on top. I didnt like the taste of the nuts or the Earl Grey filling. I suppose Im not a big Earl Grey fan as the taste didnt sit well with me. I only enjoyed the whipped cream in the middle. The crust of this pie also wasnt as good as the Maple Custards either. It was more dense and hard. My friends still love this pie, but Im not sold. Honey Lavender Cheesecake: Another big mistake, although not as bad as the Chocolate Crostata. The weird floral taste of the lavender and the sourness of the cheesecake did not mesh well for anybody in my family. It was sweet, sour - just overall strange. I love lavender, but it didnt work well for me. The crust was okay though. That was the only redeeming factor. Chocolate Crostata: Worst mistake ever. This was horrible. The crust looked like it was flaky with sugar crystals on top. It was hard to even get the fork through the crostata. And the chocolate was horrible - probably the worst chocolate pie Ive ever had. I expected my fork to slide through this dessert, for the chocolate to be creamy and soft. Nope, it was hard and so heavy that nobody wanted to eat it. My mom tried to heat it up so that it would taste better, but it just made the chocolate even thicker so we ended up throwing it out. tl;dr - So overall we only liked 1/4 of the pies. My dad was not happy and made me promise to just stick with Asian bakery cakes in the future. My parents were not won over by these desserts, and when they found out the price of the total - they were not happy. Lets just say I could have bought a much better cake from an Asian bakery for cheaper than these 4 slices of pie. I think I chose the Honey Lavender and Chocolate Crostata because I asked for recommendations from the worker helping me on what her favorites were. Next time Ill just choose what I think I would like. Actually, I dont think there will be a next time. Im just going to stick with Marie Callenders Banana Cream Pie.

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CH

Chanese Harris

Ive been to the pie hole in the art district in LA and I throughly enjoyed the macaroni and cheese pie that I got. When I found out about the pie hole in Pasadena I was excited since it is located alot closer to where I live. Upon arriving we couldnt find it at first. Since its kind of located inside of a little like shopping area type of place. Once we found it, its a small little Shop in there that only had 2 people working. It was just big enough for 2 people. However it was a busy night that needed more then 2 people working. The 2 girls however were working there asses off to get things done so applaud to them. This time around I tried the Philly cheese steak and I was so disappointed. Normally Philly cheese steaks come with bell peppers and onions and cheese. This pie however only came with steak. And thats it. I have never been so disappointed that it ruined my appetite. I dont know if Ill be back to this particular location again. Ill waist more gas and just drive to LA

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J

J B

Shes my Earl Grey pie!!! Light, fluffy, creamy but not too rich, with just enough dark chocolate on the bottom, and plenty of crushed pistachios on top - whew! Left me wanting more, BUT at $7 a slice - ehhh not so much! But at least Ive had the taste in mah mouf! Now, that banana butterscotch... creamy, buttery sweet, delicious - but wha whats this hard thing? Oh its UNRIPENED BANANA! My poor plastic fork was in agony trying to slice through them - so was my mouth, trying to eat them. We finally removed all the bananas and just ate butterscotch pie. :/ That sort of took away from it... Especially at another almost $7. Pies are yummy... Flavors unique... But prices are a bit steep. I checked out the hype and when Im in the area again I might try one of the hand pies instead (like that tempting lavender one) but dont think this will be a regular stop for me. But check it out for yourself, stop by and see Amanda - shes awesome!! But watch out for those B-A-N-A-N-A-S! :P

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CA

Casey D

I need to establish a line of credit at this place. The pies are that good (and that expensive). The Maple Custard and Mexican Chocolate pies are hands down the best pies I have ever had. No hyperbole. I bring people to this place like it was a church that I want them to worship at. They always come back. Selection is limited, but this is they type of place that stresses quality over quantity. A place like House of Pies may have 20 pies to choose from, but their quality will never come close to a place like this. Besides the aforementioned Custard and Chocolate, Earl Grey and Apple are also solid choices. Kind of pricey at around $6 for a medium sized slice. Also, being in Old Town, its not the kind of place thats easy to just stop by and grab a slice (parking at the LA location isnt easy either - must be some sort of theme). Expect to pay for parking somewhere. A must visit for anyone in the area.

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SH

Shanon Yu

Get the Maple Custard pie! You wont be disappointed! I first visited the Little Tokyo Pie Hole and became completely addicted to their Maple Custard pie. But I couldnt warrant driving out and dealing with the lines and parking all the time, so I was delighted to hear that a location opened in Pasadena! Parking is so much easier and its located in a food hall so theres a tea spot next door, Cold Pressed Juicery, and also Coolhaus. The staff are extremely friendly and they make some really good lattes as well which pairs amazingly with their pies. Prices for a single slice of pie ranges from $4.50-$6.75 so it is a lot more than other places, but its definitely worth a splurge! Tip* Its best to eat their pies right away when its fresh. I found that leaving it overnight in the fridge causes the pie to become soggy the next day.

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